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ESSENDON coach James Hird has declared he will defend himself "vigorously" against the charges laid by the AFL last night.

Speaking outside his Toorak mansion just before 11am, Hird said he was "shattered" to be charged with bringing the game "I love and cherish and respect" into disrepute.

But the Bombers coach expressed relief that his players has not yet received infraction notices for doping.

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"It's incredible, actually," he said.

"I think it's great the players have been freed and they've got a great sense of relief over that."

Hird said he and the other key club figured slapped with AFL charges - club doctor Bruce Reid, assistant coach Mark Thompson and football boss Danny Corcoran - would now look at their options for fighting the charges.

"I think that our footy club is a great footy club, as I said. We find it hard to believe we've been charged on the base of an interim report where no infraction notices have been handed down and we'll move on from there."

The besieged coach said he, Reid, Thompson and Corcoran would support each other through the process.

"The four of us are probably identified as (part of) the blackest day in Australian sport now, so we take that very seriously."

Reid added: "I am not going to stand aside and let my reputation of 40 years go down the drain. I will fight."

The AFL Commission will hear the charges on August 26.

Adrian Anderson told 3AW's Neil Mitchell this morning that the hearing should be open to the public.

"When people can scrutinise things and see them for themselves, they better understand the process," Anderson said. "I think it would help add public understanding if this thing was conducted in open.’’

Yesterday evening, AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon announced: "I have reviewed the evidence, carefully considered the matter and have come to the view that the parties have a case to answer.

"They are all charged with conduct that is unbecoming, or likely to prejudice the interests or reputation of the Australian Football League or to bring the game of football into disrepute, contrary to AFL Rule 1.6."

But Dillon said that on current evidence no players would receive infraction notices for doping.

"Although WADA has declared AOD-9604 a banned substance, on the information currently before the AFL, there's no specific anti-doping regulation violation attributed to any individual player for the use of AOD-9604 or any other prohibited substance."

The AFL can suspend officials, impose large fines and strip the club of premiership points and draft picks. If Essendon were stripped of points, another team - possibly Carlton, West Coast or even North Melbourne - could sneak into the final eight.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority continues to probe the Bombers, and the league said it could not rule out further charges if new information came to hand.

James HirdSource:HeraldSun

Essendon chairman Paul Little said the charged club leaders would all continue in their respective roles.

"To do otherwise before these matters are finalised would be to effectively impose a penalty in advance of a fair hearing and represent a denial of natural justice," Little said.